


All My Years, With You

by earlgreyroses



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birthday Presents, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Birthday Prompto, M/M, Mentions of Eating Disorder, Prompto Deserves Nice Things, mlm author, no betas we write at 1AM while our editors are asleep like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 21:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12491712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyroses/pseuds/earlgreyroses
Summary: All Prompto really knew about birthdays was that his didn’t matter.





	All My Years, With You

All Prompto really knew about birthdays was that his didn’t matter.

When Prompto Argentum was five years old, his parents gave him a cupcake with a candle in it and sang him a song. He wasn’t really sure what the point was, but his family was there, and he thought it was the best day ever.

When Prompto was eight, his parents gave him another cupcake and a quick “happy birthday” before going back to their own business. Prompto understood. They were busy, but they still found the time to buy him a cupcake. To Prompto, that meant everything.

When Prompto was ten, he came home to an empty house. A cupcake was in the fridge with a note on it that read “Happy Birthday” in the scribbly handwriting his mother always used when she was in a hurry. They were busy, Prompto knew that, but he still felt a pang of loneliness in his chest. At least the cake made him feel better. It always did. 

When he was thirteen, he invited his classmates to his birthday party. His parents would be out of town on a business trip, and he thought it might be a good idea to throw a party so he wouldn’t have to spend his birthday entirely alone. He gave everyone handmade invitation cards, telling them his address and that the party would start at 4:30 PM that Saturday. Most of them promised they’d be there, and when Saturday rolled around, he waited excitedly by the door. At 9:15, he gave up waiting and went to bed.

When he was fifteen, his parents forgot. There was no cupcake, but that didn’t matter anyway. He needed to get in shape so he could become friends with the prince, just like Luna wanted. He was down to eating 600 calories a day and a cupcake would be at _least_ half that, probably more, and he’d already had a handful of chips earlier and gods he should be doing better, what the hell was he thinking, he would never amount to anything, stupid, stupid, _stupid…_

When he was sixteen, he didn’t even bother hoping. 

It wasn’t a conscious decision, not really, but after so many years of disappointment it just made sense. As he got older he celebrated in smaller ways, like letting himself eat a third of a bag of his favorite chips, or buying himself his favorite soda, or taking a few hours off to wander around the city taking photos. As a seventeenth birthday present he bought himself a camera after almost a year of saving up for it, and it was admittedly kind of shitty, but it was better than the old one he borrowed from his dad’s office that smelled like mildew and had a crack in the lens. Seventeen and eighteen drifted by as if they never even happened. Prompto slipped into a halcyon indifference.

On his nineteenth birthday, he woke up to the sound of someone banging on his front door. It woke him so suddenly he almost thought it was in a dream, or maybe it was the rain outside, but when the noise continued, he groggily dragged himself out of bed to answer the door. 

Noctis was standing there, soaking wet from the rainstorm and completely out of breath. 

“Dude, what the hell?” Prompto yelped, dragging him inside. Noctis stood in the entryway shivering, looking like a drowned rat. Prompto grabbed a towel out of the bathroom and instinctively started to dry him off, ruffling his hair probably more than was necessary and ignoring his protests. 

“Not my fault you took forever to answer the door,” Noctis muttered, grabbing the towel from Prompto’s hands. “But this isn’t about me. Get dressed.” 

“Why?” Prompto asked, suddenly very aware that he was still in his chocobo-print pajama pants and the comically oversized “Chick Magnet” shirt Noctis bought him without double-checking the size. “I dunno if you realized, but the weather is _kinda_ gross.” 

_”You’re_ kinda gross,” Noctis retorted. “Seriously, though. Get dressed. I’m taking you on an adventure.” 

“I just woke up!” Prompto whined.

“So did I. C’mon, trust me, it’ll be fun.” Noctis hung the damp towel on the back of a chair and started to fingercomb his hair back into place. “Unless you want to go out in _that_ outfit. I mean, it really shows off your personality.” 

“Next time I’m leaving you outside,” Prompto snorted, turning and heading back to his room to change. He could hear Noctis following behind him in the awkward shuffle-y way he walked when he was nervous, and as Prompto dug through his closet to find something to wear, Noctis took a seat on his bed with a heavy sigh. 

“Are you mad at me or something?” Noctis said quietly, as if he was speaking more to himself than to Prompto. Prompto whirled around in a heartbeat. 

“What? No! Why would I be?” His pulse was racing. _This is is,_ he thought. _I’ve managed to fuck things up with Noctis. Good fucking job, Prompto, you’ve lost the best fucking thing that ever happened to you, and now--_

“You didn’t tell me it was your birthday.” Noctis sounded _sad,_ not angry. “You didn’t tell Iggy or Gladio either. I had to hear it from _Cor._ We’ve been together for almost a year, and my own boyfriend wouldn’t even tell me his birthday.” He squeezed and released fistfuls of Prompto’s blankets, eyes trained on the floor. “Is it something I did?”

“No!” Prompto yelped. Guilt had his chest in a vicegrip. “No, Noct, I really didn’t...it wasn’t you, okay? I promise. It wasn’t anything you did, I know you wouldn’t ever…” 

“Then why?” Noctis asked, looking up at him. His face looked so vulnerable it hurt. Prompto frowned and moved to sit beside him, laying his head on Noctis’s shoulder. Noctis relaxed, like all the tension had bled from him in a wave, but his voice still sounded hurt. “I guess I just don’t _get_ it.”

“It’s because…” Prompto’s voice trailed off as the words died on his tongue. What could he even say? He couldn’t say he wasn’t important; Noctis would just deny it, since it’s easy to say that when you’re _the prince_ and your importance is an outright fact. He couldn’t say he didn’t want Noctis to know, because that would never get the right message across, and Prompto refused to hurt him that way. The truth would make him sound pathetic He resigned himself to his fate with a sigh. “I guess I was just scared you’d forget.” 

“What?” Noctis sounded _wounded_ now. “Why the hell would you think that?” 

“I don’t know,” Prompto admitted. “I mean, maybe that’s not the best way to put it, but people always forget my birthday and even though you’re my boyfriend and I know you love me I guess I didn’t want to get my hopes up just in case because I know you’re busy and it really doesn’t matter and I’m _sorry,_ Noct, I really am, I never wanted to make you feel bad about this, and--” 

He was cut off by Noctis kissing him, quickly and gently. Noctis pulled away as soon as Prompto felt his shoulders relax. He hadn’t even realized he was so tense.. “Sorry, you just...you were doing that thing where you overthink stuff while you’re still talking and end up freaking yourself out.” Noctis ran a hand through his hair and gave him a soft smile. “Relax, okay? I’m not mad or anything. I was just worried you didn’t trust me, or something.”

“I trust you completely,” Prompto said, and those were the truest words he’d ever spoken. “I’m sorry. I’m kind of a mess sometimes, y’know?” 

“You’re perfect.” Noctis kissed his forehead. “Well, maybe not your hair, it’s a disaster right now. But the rest of you is perfect.” Slowly, he stood up and pulled Prompto to his feet. “Get dressed, though. Seriously. I’m taking you out on a birthday adventure and I definitely recommend wearing real pants.” 

“I don’t want to wear real pants,” Prompto groaned, but changed into a hoodie and jeans anyway. Technically speaking it was Noctis’s hoodie, but he’d left it at Prompto’s apartment so long ago that it basically had a common-law marriage with his closet. It was Prompto’s favorite; it was dark grey and ridiculously soft, and Noctis always said it made his arms look good when he pushed up the sleeves. 

(It also did a great job of covering his wrist, but that was something Noctis _definitely_ didn’t need to know.)  
Noctis gave him a once-over glance before nodding his approval. “Ready to go?” 

“Ready!” Prompto chirped, grabbing his keys and an umbrella before heading out. 

“Hey, hold on,” Noctis chided playfully as he took Prompto’s arm like an old-fashioned gentleman. Prompto rolled his eyes but acquiesced, allowing himself to be led to the Regalia. Surprisingly enough, it was empty.

“No Iggy?” he asked.

“Nah,” Noctis said with a shrug. “I asked him to let us hang out alone.” 

“If you crash the car and I die, I’m gonna haunt you _so_ hard.” 

“I can live with that.”

\--

Prompto had to admit, Noctis was completely right. They were only an hour in and already his face hurt from smiling. Noctis had taken him to a quiet little cafe for lunch, and after one bite of his sandwich, Prompto was convinced he was having a religious experience.

“Eat the whole thing,” Noctis said without looking up from his own meal. He’d already picked all the veggies out of his sandwich and surreptitiously moved them to Prompto’s plate, while Prompto conspicuously pretended not to notice. It was a comfortable, familiar ritual, and it made Prompto a little less nervous. 

“I was going to!” he insisted, taking another bite. Across the table, Noctis rolled his eyes.

“You always say that, but then you get started on counting calories and don’t finish eating.” To punctuate his sentence, he reached across the table and poked Prompto with a french fry. “You’re supposed to eat junk food on your birthday. It’s pretty much law.” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry.” He sighed dreamily. “This sandwich is probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Anything for you, birthday boy.” Noctis leaned forward again to swipe a smear of sauce off Prompto’s cheek. “Anything in the whole world.”

\--

“You let me win!” Prompto groaned, setting down the gun-shaped controller in its holster. The arcade was humming with activity despite the rainstorm, and Prompto had all but begged to spend some of the evening there. Noctis agreed without hesitation, but he looked downright baffled.

“No, you’re just unreasonably good at shooting games,” he said, seemingly baffled. “Have you been practicing without me or something? By the _Six_ , Prompto, you beat the high score three times in a row!” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever played this one before,” Prompto replied sheepishly. “Maybe looking down a lens helps with my aim.”

“You’re actually the worst,” Noctis said with a sigh, but it sounded like a love song.

\--

Noctis, Prompto had decided, was definitely the greatest boyfriend in the history of boyfriends, and this was the greatest birthday in the history of birthdays. After an afternoon of jumping between all Prompto’s favorite places and an evening at the arcade, they were finally back at Prompto’s apartment. Noctis’s clothes had dried, and the rainy weather was entirely forgotten, nothing but a dull white noise in the background as Noctis held Prompto in his lap on the couch.

“Hey,” Noctis murmured, pressing a kiss to his ear. 

“Hey yourself,” Prompto replied, leaning back and stealing a proper kiss. 

Noctis hesitated for a moment, before finally mumbling, “I got you a present but you have to promise not to be mad.” 

“Uh,” Prompto said, because his brain had fully short-circuited. “A present?” 

“Yeah. A present.” Noctis gestured to a box in the corner. “I brought it in when we got back. I was going to give it to you anyway, but I figured this would be a better time.” Prompto could feel Noctis’s heart racing against his back. This was either a good sign or a very, very bad sign. 

“Do I...open it now?” Prompto asked slowly. Anxiety was rapidly building in the hollow of his chest. “Or do I wait? Like, what’s the, uh, proper birthday present ritual?”

“You mean you’ve never--nevermind, that’s a dumb question. Go ahead and open it now, I want to make sure it’s the right thing.” Noctis gently shifted Prompto up out of his lap, and Prompto nervously padded across the floor to pick up the gift. 

The present was immaculately wrapped in gold and black filigree-print paper, with a stunning black bow on the top--Ignis had wrapped it, that much was obvious. The box itself was heavy, and somehow that only made Prompto worry more.  
“Are you sure I should unwrap it? Seems like a waste of work…” Prompto thought aloud. 

“Just open it, it was meant to be ripped up.” 

“If you’re sure.” Carefully nonetheless, he unfolded the pressed corners and slid the box out of the wrapping with as little damage to the paper as he could manage. Suddenly, the present itself was staring him in the face, and his heart leaped into his throat. 

It was a camera. More precisely, _the_ camera Prompto had been silently pining over from afar. It was incredibly versatile, and the photo quality was fantastic, and it was _so fucking expensive._

“Noct, this is...this is too much, I can’t…” Prompto didn’t even register the fact he was crying until Noctis suddenly appeared at his side, wiping frantically at his cheeks. 

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry,” he soothed. “I wasn’t totally sure what you wanted, but you always looked at this one when we passed by the shop, so I thought--”

“You didn’t have to!” Prompto blurted out. “I wasn’t even expecting anything, I never got gifts anyway, and you’ve already done so much!” 

“So what?” Noctis said gently, pulling Prompto against him. “I love you. I want to give you nice things, because you deserve them.”

_Deserve them,_ Prompto thought. _Noctis really thinks I deserve this._

“I’ve never thought I deserved stuff like this before,” he said between sniffles instead. He buried his face in Noctis’s shoulder. “I never really thought of myself as being good enough, y’know?” 

“You’re already good enough,” Noctis whispered. “You’re good enough for this, and you’re good enough for me.” 

Prompto sniffled again, but the ache in his chest was replaced with warmth. “That’s gay. You’re gay. You, Noctis Lucis Caelum, are gay.” 

“Shit, you’ve caught me,” Noctis said with a laugh. Prompto wrapped his arms tightly around him and kissed him, long and slow, before pulling away to pepper kisses down his jaw. 

“I love you, Noct. Thanks for everything. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He was giddy with the truth of it of it all, and as he nuzzled back into Noctis’s shoulder, he felt the comforting vibration of his laughter. 

“I love you too,” Noctis replied simply, kissing the side of Prompto’s head.

Prompto lifted his head, a shy smile burning its way across his face. “Can I take some photos of you later? I want to start figuring the camera out.” 

“Just like I said,” Noctis said with a radiant smile. “Anything for you.”

Prompto knew two things about birthdays. The first was that, no matter how difficult it was to believe, there was at least one person in the world who thought his birthday mattered.

And as he and Noctis were curled up in bed, the world still and silent except for the storm outside, with Noctis’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist and his face pressed against the nape of Prompto’s neck, Prompto realized a second thing about birthdays:

He wanted to spend the rest of them with Noctis.

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday Prompto, and happy early birthday to me!
> 
> come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://issun-boshi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
